Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

[Zoob]

So I was messing with my 1981 Bayliner Runaway this weekend, thought I'd be all awesome and put in swivel chairs. Picked up the hardware, and measured to where I want the base post-plate.

Drilled some leading holes for the big fat screws, and went through the floor, hit empty air, went through more resistance. My brain thought, "huh?" and "oh !@#$" at the same time.

Sure enough, went to the outside, and realized with two of the four holes, I punched right through the bottom of the boat. I guess I wasn't paying attention to how shallow the draft is right there.

The two holes are tiny, not even 1/8th wide (and 6 inches apart).

I trudged up to the hardware store and got a fiberglass repair kit and some silicone sealant. I squirted as much silicone up into the holes as it'd take, letting it work its way back down, and flush with the bottom of the boat. I also sanded away the paint around the two holes to get to the base fiberglass.

Now my question is this -- the holes are small, really small. I don't trust the silicone alone - but I'm wondering if I *really* need the fiberglass in the fiberglass repair kit. The patches for them would only be about 1/4" x 1/4" each. I'm wondering if I can just mix the resin and the hardener together and slather that over the surface of the holes and call it done?

 

[mswalter2009]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

The silicone alone will not work. I'm assuming that you cannot get to the inner side of the hull. If it were my 1991 boat I would fill the holes with Marine Tex. When mixed properly it will not sag and the holes can be filled and let to dry. I would also put a small patch of either marine tex or fiberglass over the hole. Make it round and an inch or so. When cured sand down the edges.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

+1 for marine tex really good "stuff"

 

[QC]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

+2 or a gelcoat reapair kit. They actually have little ones at Depot and Lowes for gelcoat showers

 

[Zoob]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

I really don't think I need to be worried about the holes if I patch it over with the fiberglass repair kit, do I? I just filled them for the heck of it. I knew they wouldn't hold, said as much. I'm just wondering if I need to bother using the fiberglass of the repair kit, or I can just put on the resin and hardener.

I never intended on just letting it be just silicone. Heck, I could screw a coupla bolts up in there and it'd hold with sealant around it. The holes are *really* small, I would never worry about flex pops. I suppose I could use some sort of epoxy filler first, but I'm not so certain how that'd react with the fiber-resin/hardener combo.

Really, the two holes are only about the width of pencil lead (NOT the pencil, just the lead). I put the silicone up there just in case the fiber patch has leaks after all is said and done.

I was just wondering if I even needed the fiber in the repair and could just go with the epoxy-resin-hardener that comes with the kit.

 

[Zoob]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

I read a good write-up here:
http://www.thehulltruth.com/archive/t-259889.html

It talks plenty about bullet-holes, resins and fillers for resins (such as using simply baby powder to act as a filler). Just passing this along, as that "Bartender" guy seems to know quite a bit of useful information.

Also, as a follow-up, I believe the way I'm going to go is fill it with an epoxy resin (marine-tex, jb-weld-marine, whatnot) so that it's plenty full. Sand it flat, then patch it with nickel-sized fiber patches and its resin-hardener mixes. Then just sand that smooth enough.

It seems like overkill for a couple of very tiny holes - but the last thing I want to do is slow-leak.

 

[QC]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

I think Bubba was more saying just to get the silicone out of there before you fix it . . . The epoxy plan will be best without the silicone to mess with it

 

[Mark42]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

Like others said, remove the silicone, and get some epoxy. When applying the epoxy, take a 1/2" drill bit and chamfer the hole from the outside. That will help eliminate silicone residue, and give the epoxy something more to bond to. Depending on your experience with fiberglass, this step may best be done by holding the bit in a locking pliers and turn by hand. That way you won't end up with a 1/2" hole, instead of a 1/8" hole.

Then tape off the area around the holes, and sand the epoxy flush to the hull. Seeing as its on the bottom, I would just leave it like that. Its just a 1/2" wide circle of epoxy. If you use a white Marine Tex epoxy, you won't even see it. And being out of the direct sun, UV will not be an issue. Or do a spot of white paint like rustolium to help hide it.

BTW, gel coat does not stick well to epoxy, and it such a small spot, I think it would be a bigger mess to try to gel coat it.

Good Luck!

 

[Zoob]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

I've contemplated running a flat-head screw up in there with the epoxy, to help give it something threaded to hang on to -- and when I eyepatch it with resin/fiber, it'll be flat and won't even notice it.

I picked up some epoxy and tiny flathead machine screws at the hardware store this AM, I'll get the air compressor and punch out the silicone (I tried using a needle thingy, but the epoxy was pretty well sealed in there.) I'm sure I'm probably overkilling it, but I'd rather have the peace of mind.

I guess since the floor is so low to the base of the boat, if she leaks, I'll find out sooner than later.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

Agreed w/ what Mark said.

First off though, I'd go in from the bottom and enlarge the 1/8" hole by about another 1/16" to 1/8", to MAKE SURE all the silcone is out of there. The silicone will interfere with the adhesion of the epoxy/Marine Tex repair material.

Second, for doing the 1/2" chamfer, what I find works nice are bits with a nice wide 135-degree angle, spun backward in a reversible electric drill.

 

[Zoob]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

Good idea on tapering the edges of the hole, I'll use a stone wedge from my dremel tool and turn it a few times by hand until I get a decent taper. I'll most likely use the tiny machine screws in the hole, just to give the epoxy inside the little hole something to hang on to, spread against. I sure wish I could get up from the other side - but I don't really care to rip up my boat flooring for two small holes. I'm probably obsessing over it too much.

Smart idea on laying down the tape around it and sanding.

Side note - the bottom of the boat is yellow - but I'm not really worried about the color of a couple nickel-sized sanded spots on the bottom. Double-side note, as I was sanding the yellow paint away, I coulda swore it smelled like lemons.

I've got the silicone out of there, it wasn't too hard to push the whole mess up and through inside the boat like a small rubber plug (it's been cured for 24 hrs or so). I'm confident I'll get a decent contact with the epoxy on the fiberglass.

Once the epoxy has cured, I'll cover it with the fiber-repair kit, cutting some small patches out of it, and then taper sanding that to a decent dimension. At least that way the epoxy will be locked in behind a wall of fiber/resin.


THANKS EVERYONE for the good advice and feedback. I appreciate it very much.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

The silicone was a mistake. I would use marinetex or West Systems. You can get a high density filler to mix the West Systems into a putty and use a putty knife to force the mix in to the hole. First prep by flairing as mentioned above.

I had a bunk bolt come loose and it poked a 1/2 in hole in my hull. Used West Systems and now no leaks at all!

 

[bekosh]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

Everyone else covered the repair, so I'll just say, don't sweat it. At least you caught it before you launched.

When I redid my last boat, I was mounting my new seats and ran 2 of the screws right through the bottom and into the trailer bunk. Made it interesting to launch the next time. :redface:

 

[Mark42]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

Not too uncommon to see a boat on a trailer with one or two screws sticking out the bottom. The ones that really make me laugh are the ones that are rusted so bad the threads are gone and its just a nub and big rust stain. How can you have screws sticking out the bottom of the boat that long and not fix it? LOL!

 

[ovrrdrive]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

If I had already sanded it I'd go ahead and glass it in with some good resin and some cloth. If I caught it before I sanded it I'd go with the marinetex/epoxy option.

Either way I'm sure it won't be a big deal once you're done.

 

[elkhunter338]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

I would make sure those screws you plan to use are stainless steel.
You are going to have some bilge water someday on the other side.
Otherwise I agree with what is being said.
At least you did not drill into your fuel tank, that is if you have a below the deck fuel tank like some boats.

 

[Zoob]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

I ended up not using screws (but the ones I got were stainless steel). I used the epoxy, mixed to a nice sturdy consistency, and jammed as much as I could up into the hole, then spread it around the bottom area to get a solid bond to the sanded hull around it. After it hardened I sanded and tapered the surface (I also tried picking it out to make sure it bonded well).

Later today I'll cut a couple quarter-sized fiberglass cloth patches and mix up some resin and hardener and cover the holes, let it set, and sand those smooth enough.

Probably this weekend I'll prep that area to receive some paint, just lay down a few layers (the total area will be about an 2x2 inches per hole, six inches apart.

I might opt to install a bilge pump this year, just to give me piece of mind - but so far I'm confident and pleased with the results.

Thanks again, everyone.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

A bilge pump is always a good idea on any boat.

 

[Mike Robinson]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

A bilge pump is always a good idea on any boat.

Well said!

 

[Zoob]

Re: Stupid Move - Drilled Hole in Boat

I will pick one up this week and install it. Was scanning the internet for tips/tricks on putting one in, and someone mentioned putting epoxy on the floor of the boat, smoosh bolts into it, to act as the mounting base for the pump.

Lord knows I have plenty of epoxy left over from my swivel chair escapade.